«Furiosa: A Mad Max saga», crossing the desert

George Miller's latest film joins the long list of his director's box-office failures. And yet, like so many others, it will undoubtedly soon be rehabilitated. Let's take a look back at the foundations of a myth with a rich universe.

This new epic presents the legend of Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy), a child plucked from the secret green land of the Vuvalini by a horde of wandering bikers. She immediately develops a hatred for their guide, the charismatic Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), a man obsessed with shaping his own glory. Soon, their path will lead them to the citadel of Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme), leading the clans to a war in the midst of which they'll be forced to fight. Furiosa will have to stand out to survive. 

Tales of details

Remember the basic yet effective premise of Mad Max: Fury Road. Here, George Miller chooses not to repeat the feat, taking the opposite approach to that taken almost ten years earlier. His story unfolds over several decades and unfolds a prodigiously rich universe. In the midst of this gigantic desert, every single life is inhabited by a story that deserves our interest.

That's why every character, whether hero or extra, carries his or her own story. The film shows us this through costumes, body deformations, tools and customized vehicles. When George Miller films a dialogue between two protagonists, he systematically fills the frame with gesticulating extras, tirelessly reminding the viewer of the existence of this whole universe. In the face of omnipresent death, the director brings this world to life, full of stories. Stories that every individual would like to tell.

George Miller's approach is self-explanatory: all these stories that the images give us a glimpse of are physically brought to the screen by the History Man (George Shevtsov), a wise old man who accompanies the film with his voice-over. He lets the action unfold, but tirelessly draws the viewer's gaze, even when hidden in the background. It's worth mentioning his appearance: his clothes and body are covered in writing. This character, reduced to the role of voice-over, nevertheless bears witness to an idea that is central to understanding how to appreciate the film, and cinema in general: the story is told through the gaze.

Against Avatar and other blockbusters

It is curious to note that some critics stop at this observation without seeking to interpret these images. What does Furiosa: A Mad Max saga? When you ask yourself this question, you realize how out of step the film is with today's blockbusters, the Avatar model in particular. 

Avatar: the way of the water (2022) showed us a friendly nature within which the characters adapted to use it to their advantage against their adversaries. The universe became as much an ally of the characters as an ideal to be protected. In Furiosa, nature has disappeared and the universe is a desert as vast as it is deadly. Every character fights for survival. In his relationship with the world, Furiosa sets itself apart from most of today's blockbusters. Licensed superheroes protect the planet from the slightest imbalance. Secret agents James Bond and Ethan Hunt are driven by the same imperatives. Barbie (2023) as Oppenheimer (2023) built the core of their plot on the risk of no longer being in harmony with their universes. Fortunately, Barbie ends up ousting the patriarchy, and Oppenheimer gets his credentials back. 

This is where Furiosa finds its welcome uniqueness. Its deadly universe allows the film to create a new relationship between individuals. Other blockbusters form communities to protect the world. Here, they are formed to protect themselves. The world becomes our characters' main adversary. It could be argued that this is the proper distinction of the post-apocalyptic world. After all, it's possible to apply this observation to Matrix or Planet of the Apes. But neither takes place in a desert.

A desert of reflections

Since its debut in 1979, the Mad Max shows us the desert gradually filling up this universe, leaving no trace of the past. It's the exact opposite of the choices made in other post-apocalyptic films, which are firmly rooted in the present day. Mad Max makes a clean sweep of it, leading to an even more radical observation: the arid desert of his world reflects the moral desert of his characters. 

In Furiosa: A Mad Max saga, It's all about survival. Everyone's life depends on their skills. Communities are maintained only artificially, as they are nothing more than clusters of individuals with very distinct personalities. Relationships are orchestrated by betrayal, begging or even slavery. As morality disappears, the only figures seeking to re-establish community order paradoxically become the story's antagonistic figures: Dementus and Immortan Joe.

In a world where there aren't enough resources for everyone, these characters will seek to be privileged by building a myth around themselves. It's no longer a question of skills, but of beliefs. To elevate themselves, they each write their own version of history, attracting to themselves the most destitute in search of hope. The only person to escape the desert is Furiosa. She becomes history, because she's the only one who doesn't pervert the hopes of others.

Opportunities to discover such a rich and coherent universe are rare. Furiosa: A Mad Max saga manages to create an original myth around which revolves a vast store of legends. Based on the nihilism of his world, he multiplies the avenues for finding meaning and humanity. It's no longer a question of saving a world already destroyed, but of fleeing, and in fleeing, reserving the few available places in the truck for those who still believe in a possible elsewhere. Only then can the long journey across the desert begin.

Write to the author: jordi.gabioud@leregardlibre.com

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